question about clarity for the vendors and apraisers on P.S..

[Dancing Fire]

let say if you had 4 stones in front of you that weigh about 2.5 cts each all top ideal cuts and they are the same colors, clarity from IF,vvs,vs,SI. in the face up position, can you honestly seperate them apart without any mangification?(assuming you eat more carrots than bugs bunny) if the answer is NO, then for me, the consumer, to purchase anything above SI would be more to satisfy my mind than my eyes. any opinons?

 

[moremoremore]

assuming it's not an emerald cut....without magnification, the answer is no. Today I saw an Si1. I couldn't see anything face up. It did have a teensy little dot through the pavillion, but I couldn't care less...chances are, it will be hidden by he setting. There are some issues with types of inclusions being "safer" than others, but I would never buy better than a vs2 (unless I won lotto!)

 

[niceice]

Oh that all depends on the SI-1, we reject about 60% of the SI-1 clarity diamonds that we evaluate because they are not "eye clean" by our standards... A lot of this will depend on your personal eye sight and your ability to locate inclusions within a diamond with and without magnification. If SI-1 is an acceptable clarity grade for your needs and vision, then we would agree that there is no need for you to consider a higher clarity, but VS-2 might very well be that first level of acceptance for other people. Some of our clients can't sleep at night unless they know that all of their clothes are lined up in their closets on matching hangers, sorted by color, collar type, season, etc. with their shoe laces laid "just so" on their shoes... Definitely VVS to IF material if you get our drift. The acceptable characteristics of a diamond is a very personal decision, largely based upon the expectations and needs of each client as they see the diamond through their eyes and through a loupe if they are more detailed oriented, so pick the clarity that you are comfortable with and go from there!

 

[CaptAubrey]

at 2.5 ct, i could pick out the si. the if, vvs, and vs, no, and neither could anyone else, if the stones were fairly graded.

 

[Nicrez]

Just to be a

's advocate, my fiance could pick out the inclusions (from the top) of VS1's, VS2 and certainly SI-1's. I only could determine colors dead-on. We are both half hawk.

Round stones hide imperfections MUCH better, so shaped stones have their own color and clarity requirements.

The IF, and VVS stones are just for rarities sake and would be the same equivilent of buying an item at the brand store, versus a discount store with the same item and a tag that says "irregular", even if it's not obvious AT ALL...Just my $.02.

 

[Daniela]

I'm with Niceice--it depends on the SI-1. It really depends on the stone. If you can't see it face up, then sure, some people wouldn't be bothered if they could see it from the side or something. Or some people wouldn't see anything at all because of their eyesight. I personally hate seeing anything from any angle with my own eyes, with no magnification. And I think I'm a bit like Nicrez's fiance--half hawk. Love my H colour stone, don't like the SI-1 inclusion all that much.

It's a VERY personal question and depends on too many variables.

For the record, Robin and Todd, I don't even have a clean closet!! Maybe I should go clean it...

Daniela

 

[moremoremore]

I think the question is face up....so you can see an si1 inclusion in a non-emerald face up?

 

[StevL]

The larger the diamond the easier it will be to see an SI1 with the naked eye.

In a half carat round an SI1 will be "eye clean" face up to most everyone. There could be that rare occasion.

When you start getting into the 2.5 carat range many more SI1's will be seen by the naked eye in the face up position. In these sizes you would be much safer with a VS1 or a jeweler to help you find the better of the SI1 stones.

You can buy an SI1 even a SI2, just pay more attention to the plotting, view the diamonds in person, and view them under several different lighting conditions.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Not all SI's are created equal. The larger the carat weight, the more readily certain types/locations of inclusions will become apparrent to the naked eye. While 100% eye clean in the face up position, inclusions may be seen thru the pavillion (side) in larger carat weight diamonds.

SteveL gave you some good advise. If the thought of inclusions does not bother you mentally, let your eye be the acid test in the decision process.